Proos co-sponsors career and education development bills

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan students would be given additional career and educational development information and would get a leg up on landing a well-paying job under legislation recently co-sponsored by Sen. John Proos.

“As part of an effort to meet the workforce needs of a growing economy, this legislation would help ensure that every Michigan student has the tools necessary to explore exciting new career options and make the best educational decisions for their future,” said Proos, R-St. Joseph. “With new talent portfolios and improved educational development plans for each student in our state, these initiatives would offer new ways for our schools to prepare our students for success.”

Senate Bill 684 would modernize educational development plans (EDPs) and create a talent portfolio. State law already requires local schools to provide an opportunity for students to begin developing an EDP in seventh grade. The bill would update that requirement to ensure that students also receive information about various careers and the opportunity to develop talent portfolios that show future employers their career or technical experiences, proficiencies, certifications or accomplishments that demonstrate marketable skills.

SB 685 would implement career exploration and job readiness by requiring more detailed information from schools in their annual improvement plan, including information on activities that provide secondary students opportunities for work-based learning and ensuring that every student in 12th grade knows how to develop a resume.

Under the bills, schools would provide students with hands-on learning and age-appropriate career information.

“I have long supported giving our students more information as they choose their own path to success and putting a greater focus on training and education in fields where jobs currently exist and are being created,” Proos said. “That is why I have also introduced legislation to give students valuable resources about in-demand jobs and growing careers in their area.”

SB 343 would require schools to provide students with the most recent available analysis of in-demand occupations for their local economic forecast region. The “Hot Jobs” outlooks for each of Michigan’s 10 prosperity regions are available at milmi.org/research/Regional-Hot-Jobs-for-2024.